Sheet metal feeder



Feb. 17,1953 R, V N scHl 2,628,726

SHEET METAL FEEDER Filed Sept. 19, 1949 2 Sl-lEETS-SHEET l \uven'ronROBERT VAN 3cm: 6v /MM A'r'roausvs Feb. 17, 1953 R. VAN SCHIE 2,628,726

SHEET METAL FEEDER Filed Sept. 19, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 I u w 1/luveu'roa Roses. VANScms 26 25 33 24 ,24 V

ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHEET METALFEEDER Robert Van Schie, Grand Rapids, Mich. Application September 19,1949, Serial No. 116,503

'8 Claims. (Cl. 2148.5)

This invention relates toa novel, very useful, practical and efficientfeeder for sheet metal plates or the like which is primarily for use inlifting, in succession, the uppermost plate of a stack of platesdisposed one over the other to a higher level, and automtaicallyreleasing said lifted plate when it has reached a predeterminedupperposition so that the released plate may be removed and taken away, thecycle of operations being repeated until all of the plates have beenthus separately and individually handled. The plates stacked one uponthe other may be moved to position underneath the device of my inventionon a truck or other carrying means, and after the load carried by onetruck has been handled another truck similarly loaded with a largenumber of sheet metal plates superimposed one over the other put in itsplace for a continuation of operations.

It is a primary object and purpose of the present invention to providea' lifter and feeder for handling plates of sheet metal substantially inthe manner described which is automatic in the connection of the lifterwith the plates and in the release of the plates on elevating suchlifter with a plate carried thereby to an upper position, and which issturdy and durable in structure and very effective in operation.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 is an elevation of the sheet metal handling device of myinvention. I

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation similar to Fig. 1illustrating the manner in which a'metal plate is released at apredetermined and selected upper position.

Fig. 4 is an elevation, similar to Fig. l, with the addition thereto ofa novel means for automatically carrying a plate from the machine afterit has been lifted and released.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section, substantially onthe plane of line 5 5 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged transverse section, upon the sameplane, at one side of the machine.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figuresof the drawings.

In the construction of the sheet metal handling device, a frame isprovided having four corner posts I, preferably of channel or angleform, one at each of the four corners of the frame, the postsatoppositesides of the frame being "connected at their upper ends byhorizontal sides 2 and at the ends by horizontal ends 3 as'sho'wn inFigs. 1 and 2. This upper rectangular open frame of the supportingstructure has a vertical cylinder 4 thereon, substantially mid-waybetween its ends, which has inlets and outlets5 for the entrance andexhaust of fluid pressure for operation alternately at opposite sides ofa piston within the cylinder (not shown); A 'rod 6 con-'- nectedwithsuch piston extends downwardly and is alternately raised and loweredbyacontrolled entrance and exhaust of pneumatic fluid or hydraulic fluidunder pressure alternately at opposite sides of the piston within thecylinder. I

At the lower end of the rod 6 a rectangular head I of any suitabledesign is securedinma horizontal plane, from which stabilizing. andguiding arms 8 extend, one adjacent each corner of the frame, the arms 8reaching at'their. outer ends to the posts I and being guided by :theflanges thereof so that the head l is maintained steady against "lateralshifting movement" as it ismoved up and down by the movements of the rod6. Plate grippers 9 are mounted, one adjacent each corner of the head Iand thereunder, being suspended from the head 1 by shortgenerallyvertical links In pivotally connected at opposite ends to the grippers 9and to the frame as shown. Each of the grippers 9 at its outer endportion has a downward extension which, at its inner edge, is inclinedupwardly and inwardly at' a n angle to the vertical as indicated at II". At the upper ends of the inclined edges l l short slots or recessesl2 are made into whichedges of'a sheet metal plate to be handled areadapted to be received. The slots are of approximately the samethickness as thesheets to be handled as illustrated so that the edges ofthe sheets are closely received in the slots. The grippers 9 arepivotally suspended on the links l0 between their ends and normally aremoved to a horizontal position by compression springs l3 bearing againstthe upper sides and outer ends ofthe parts 9, so as to swing the innerends of the grippers upwardly until stopped by coming against the lowerends of screws I4 which are adjustably threaded through the head I, oneadjacent each corner thereof. v On said'head lover the'inner end of eachof the grippers 9 a vertical rod I5 is slidably mounted which, at itsupper end above the head I, has a somewhat enlarged and preferablyconical head 16. Upon the upward'movement of therod 6 and the connectedhead I the heads I6 of the rods I at uppermost position come to stop orabutment members IT, which are secured to the upper frame having thesides 2 and the ends 3. Upon the heads I6 coming against such stops acontinuation of upward movement of the rod 6 causes the rods I5 to bemoved downwardly against the inner ends of the grippers 9 to turn themfrom the horizontal position which they normally assume (Fig. 1) totilted positions as shown in Fig. 3.

The sheet metal plates I8 which are to be handled are shown on a truckI9 directly below the four grippers. With such grippers in horizontalposition and maintained in such position by the springs I3, when themechanism is lowered by moving the rod 6 downwardly, the inclined edgesat II contact the ends of the uppermost plate I8 of the stack and at thelowermost position of the mechanism the grippers I9 will have beentilted about their pivotal connections to the links Ill so that the endedges of the uppermost plates I8 are received in the notches or recessesI2, whereupon the springs I3 return the grippers 9 to horizontalposition. Engagement of the top surfaces of the notches I2 with the topsurface of the top sheet stops the grippers 9 with noses at theintersection of the lower edges of the notches I2 and the upper edges ofthe inclined surfaces II closely adjacent to the lower edges of the topsheet. If the action of the spring I3 is insufficient to force thesenoses between the top and second sheet, the upward pull of the links Inon the inner portions of the grippers 9 causes the outer ends of thegrippers to press inwardly of the sheets with considerable force so thatthe edges of the top sheet are forced into the notches. The rod Ii isthen lifted by reversing the flow of pressure fluid in the cylinder 4.When such rod has been elevated to sufficiently high position that therods I5 are forced downwardly when their heads strike the abutments atIT, the grippers 9 are turned, as shown in Fig. 3, against the force ofsprings I3, releasing the uppermost plate which has been lifted abovethe others.

Such uppermost plate when released is kept from falling back on thestack of plates on the truck l9 in any suitable manner. In Figs. 4, 5and 6 there is shown a carrier for the released elevated plate I8 uponwhich it drops when released, the plate thereupon moving by gravity onsaid carrier to and beyond one end of the machine.

This carrier for the elevated plate I8, after it has been released,includes two side bars 20 extending between and connected at their endsto the posts I and having a downward inclination from one end thereof tothe other. On each of the bars 20, which are located above the stack ofplates on the truck I9 and below the upper point of elevation of theuppermost plate, a plurality of roller units are mounted in spacedrelation to each other. Each of said roller units comprises a fixedshort bar or arm 2 I, secured at one end to its supporting bar 20 andextending outwardly. Through the outer free end portion thereof avertical adjusting screw 22 is threaded which, at its lower end, servesas a stop for a tilting bar 23 located under it and pivotally suspendedat its inner end from a bracket 24 connected to and extending downwardlyfrom the bar 20. The bar 23 is normally moved upwardly to engage thestop screw 22 by a tension spring 25 between the bars 2I and 23.

At the inner end of each of the bars 23 a roller 26 is mounted. Theroller is of short length and normally occupies a horizontal plane asbest shown in Fig. 6.

When an uppermost plate I8 from the stack is lifted and released, duringthe lifting the side edge portions of the plate come underneath the freeends of the rollers 26, tilting them and the connected bars 23 to thedash line position shown in Fig. 6, until the plate has passed by suchrollers, whereupon they return to their normal horizontal positions,being pulled back by the springs 25. The rollers are thus positionedunderneath the uppermost plate I8 when it is automatically released. Theplate dropping downwardly on to said rollers, and the rollers from oneend to the other being inclined downwardly the plate moves under theinfluence of its own weight over said rollers toward the end of theframe to which the lowest ends of the bars 20 are connected and in thismanner is moved out of the way. It may be delivered to any suitablereceiving means therefor or taken away by work men ready to receive it.

The handling of sheet metal plates is expedited by the machine of myinvention. The removal of such plates from a stack of plates by hand isslow and unsatisfactory. The machine is economical to build and is of anovel and practical structure.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be consideredcomprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a structure as described, a supporting frame having corner postsand an upper structure between and connecting the corner posts, avertical rod mounted for reciprocating movements extending downwardlyfrom said upper structure, means for reciprocating said rod, a headsecured at the lower end of the rod, said head being of a generallyrectangular form, short links pivotally connected at their upper ends toand extending downwardly one adjacent each corner of the frame, agripper member pivotally connected between its ends at the lower portionof each link, each gripper member being normally located in a horizontalposition and having at its outer end a downward extension, the inneredge of which is upwardly and inwardly inclined, each gripper member atthe upper end of such inclined edge having a notch therein, spring meansassociated with each gripper member and portions of said head normallyturning the gripper members toward a horizontal position, stop means onsaid head against which the gripper members engage when moved by saidsprings to substantially horizontal position, and members extendingthrough said head, one for each gripper member at the inner end thereofand movable with the head, combined with abutment means on the upperstructure against which said members are brought on upward movement ofthe rod and attached head to simultaneously swing the gripper members todepress their inner ends and elevate their outer ends.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, each stop means for each grippingmember comprising a screw threaded through said head and located in theupward path of movement of the inner end portion of each gripper memberunder the influence of the spring acting thereon, said screws beingadjustable controlling the positions of the gripping members at whichthey are stopped.

3. In a structure as described, a supporting frame including four cornerposts, an upper substantially open horizontal frame at the upper ends ofsaid posts extending therebtween, and connected with the posts, avertical cylinder having inlet and exhaust means at opposite endscarried by said upper frame, a piston rodentering the lower end of saidcylinder and extending below said upper frame, a generally rectangularhead secured to the lower end of the piston rod, said cylinder beingadapted-to have pressure fluid alternately entered into andexhausted atopposite ends thereof to raise and lower the rod and head, a grippingmember suspended from said head adjacent each corner thereof, means formovably mounting each gripping means to turn about a horizontal axis,means associated with said head and each gripping member for normallyyieldingly holding each gripping member in substantially horizontalposition, means on each gripping member adapting it to engage with anedge of the uppermost sheet of a superimposed stack of sheets ofmaterial below the head to grip said uppermost sheet at opposite edgesthereof, and vertically disposed rod-s, one for each gripper membermounted on said head and passing freely therethrough engaging at lowerends with associated gripper members, combined with stop means on saidupper frame against which said last mentioned rods strike forautomatically moving the gripper members to release a material sheetheld thereby upon upward movement of said head and the sheet carried bysaid gripper members to a predetermined upper position.

4. A structure as defined in claim 3, and two bars one at each side ofsaid frame connected to and extending between the posts at the sides ofthe frame, said bars inclining downwardly from one end to the other andbeing located in the same inclined plane, a plurality of short barsspaced from each other located underneath each of said inclined bars,means for pivotally mounting said short bars at their inner ends to turnon horizontal axes, said short bars being carried by said inclined bars,a roller at the inner end of each of said short bars having its innerend portion located in the path of movement of a sheet of material whensaid material is elevated, spring means connected with each of saidshort bars normally moving the outer ends of said short bars in anupward direction and stops carried by said inclined bars to stop saidshort bars substantially at horizontal position.

5. In a machine for removing the top sheet from a stack of stiff metalsheets, a vertically reciprocable head, opposed pairs of gripperscarried by said head to be reciprocated thereby against the top of saidstack, the grippers of each pair having upper body portions extendinglongitudinally inwardly from opposite sides of said head to overlie theopposite edges of a sheet and having depending cam portions on the outerends thereof having opposed upwardly and inwardly inclined innersurfaces adapted to cammingly engage the opposite edges of the topsheet, said grippers having inwardly opening sheet receiving notchesformed at the intersection of said cam portions and said upper portions,and links pivotally connected to said head and to said grippers inwardlyof said notches, said grippers being biased relative to said head tolocate said notches in generally horizontal position.

6. In a machine for removing the top sheet from a stack of stiff sheets,a vertically reciprocable head, opposed pairs of grippers carried bysaid head to be reciprocated thereby against the top of said stack, thegrippers of each pair having upper body'portions extendinglongitudinally inwardly from opposite'sides of saidhead to overlie theopposite edges of a sheet and having depending camportions on the outerends thereof having opposed upwardly and inwardly inclined innersurfaces adapted to cammingly engage the opposite edges of the topsheet, said grippers having inwardly opening sheet receiving notchesformed at the intersection of saidcam portions and said upper portions,and links pivotally connected to said head and to said grippers inwardlyof said notches.

7. A sheet separating and delivering device comprising, a frame workadapted to be supported over a'stack of sheets to be delivered, alifting head mounted for vertical movement on the frame, means forraising and lowering the head, a plurality of gripping members mountedon said head and adapted on lowering of the head to engage and gripopposite edges of a sheet to elevate the sheet on upward movement of thehead, means for automatically releasing said gripping members on upwardmovement of said head to a predetermined position, a plurality of spacedmovably mounted support elements located along inclined lines onopposite sides of said frame and between the upper and lower limits ofmovement of said gripping members, said support elements having innerends extending inwardly of the outline of said frame and into the pathof movement of sheets elevated by said head, said support elements beingpivotally mounted for vertically upward swinging motion of their innerends under the influence of a sheet being elevated, and means associatedwith each of said elements adapted to return the element to generallyhorizontal inwardly projecting position with respect to said frame afterthe sheet being elevated has passed the element and before said meansfor releasing said gripping members is actuated whereby the sheetreleased from the gripping members falls upon said support elements fordelivery by gravity along the incline of said support elements.

8. A sheet separating and delivering device comprising, a frame workadapted to be supported over a stack of sheets to be delivered, alifting head mounted for vertical movement on the frame, means forraising and lowering the head, a plurality of gripping members mountedon said head and adapted on lowering of the head to engage and gripopposite edges of a sheet to elevate the sheet on upward movement of thehead, means for automatically releasing said gripping members on upwardmovement of said head to a predetermined position, a plurality of spacedmovably mounted support elements located along inclined lines onopposite sides of said frame and between the upper and lower limits ofmovement of said gripping members, said support elements having innerends extending inwardly of the outline of said frame and into the pathof movement of sheets elevated by said head, said support elements beingpivotally mounted for vertically upward swinging motion of their innerends under the influence of a sheet being elevated, and means associatedwith each of said elements adapted to return the element to generallyhorizontal inwardly projecting position with respect to said frame afterthe sheet being elevated has passed the element and before said meansfor releasing said gripping members is actuated whereby the sheetreleased from the gripping members falls upon said support elements fordelivery by gravity along the incline of said support elements, saidsupport elements each comprising a roller rotatable about an axisprojecting inwardly of said frame and normally to the pivot axis of thesupport element.

ROBERT VAN SCHIE.

file of this patent:

Number 8 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Suethen Feb. 4, 1902 Ayers Apr.15, 1913 Locke Aug. 28, 1923 Jones Feb. 14, 1939 Cullen Apr. 30, 1940Coburn June 11, 1940 Smith et a1 Apr. 3, 1951

